Munster hold onto second spot

PRO12 WRAP: Munster cemented their place in second spot on the Pro12 table, which brings with it homeground advantage in the play-offs.

Stuart Hogg scored a late try, but it was not enough for Glasgow Warriors as Munster held on to claim a vital 10-7 victory to move a step closer to the Pro12 semifinals.

* In other Saturday action Ross Byrne held his nerve to slot a last-gasp drop-goal as Leinster moved to within touching distance of the Pro12 play-offs with an 20-18 win over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

* Zebre won back-to-back matches in the Pro12 for the first time since Christmas 2015 as they beat Newport Gwent Dragons 29-14.

* Ken Owens marked his 200th Scarlets appearance with a try as he helped his side climb into the Pro12 top four with an impressive 51-5, eight-try victory over Treviso at Parc y Scarlets.

We look at all the Saturday matches!

Munster 10-7 Glasgow Warriors

Stuart Hogg scored a late try but it was not enough for Glasgow Warriors as Munster held on to claim a vital 10-7 victory to move a step closer to the Pro12 semifinals.

James Cronin crossed early for the Irish side in a tense, low-scoring affair - but it was Glasgow who enjoyed possession for large parts of the first half without adding to the scoreboard.

Munster pushed for a vital try in the second half, but they squandered two golden opportunities.

And when Hogg crossed, it looked they would be made to pay, but some expert defending secured another major victory this season.

Munster had to do without key trio Keith Earls, Conor Murray and CJ Stander due to injury, but Ireland veteran Peter O'Mahony returned to the bench.

Meanwhile, Glasgow made three changes, with Nick Grigg, Ali Price and Sila Puafisi all coming into the side.

But it was the Irish team who hit the front early at a raucous Irish Independent Park as prop Cronin muscled his way over from a couple of yards out as the Munster pack battered the Glasgow defence.

Glasgow surged forwards, commanding territory and possession but they could not find a way through Munster's stern back line.

The hosts quickly went up the other end, but a dropped pass cost them a glorious chance of adding to their score.

Finn Russell and Hogg bombarded Muster with the high ball, but Andrew Conway was reliable underneath - as the hosts continued to deny the visitors try-scoring chances, even though Glasgow threw all they had towards the end of the half.

After the break, Munster thought they had added a second score when they drove forward menacingly from a five-metre scrum. But just as cheers went round the stadium, the referee blew for a Glasgow penalty.

The Warriors were hanging on as Munster flew forward, Jaco Taute supplying a perfectly-weighted pass for Ronan O'Mahony to cross in the corner - but the TMO ruled it out after reviewing O'Mahony's grounding.

Rory Scannell sent a penalty sailing through the posts minutes later though, increasing their lead to ten points.

But Glasgow got back into it as Hogg crossed after a delightful chip and chase.

However, that was as good as it got for the Warriors, as Munster closed out the game with some last-ditch defending.

Ross Byrne held his nerve to slot a last-gasp drop-goal as Leinster moved to within touching distance of the Pro12 play-offs with an 20-18 win over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

Ross Byrne held his nerve to slot a last-gasp drop-goal as Leinster moved to within touching distance of the Pro12 play-offs with an 20-18 win over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

On his 200th appearance for the Ospreys Dan Biggar could have won it with the final kick of the game after a late Leinster infringement, but he pushed his penalty attempt wide as Leinster held on.

Justin Tipuric's try looked set to give the Welsh side the perfect response to their European disappointment but Byrne stepped up with a minute to go to knock over the crucial drop-goal to win it.

The Ospreys had led earlier thanks to a Sam Davies try, and even after Leinster struck back thanks to scores from Sean Cronin and Dan Leavy, Tipuric responded to give the Ospreys the lead heading into the final seconds.

However they could not hold on, and instead Leinster stretch their lead at the top of the table with the Ospreys now looking over their shoulder in the race for a top four spot.

In just the third minute Leinster were penalised at scrum-time just inside the Leinster half, but Biggar's shot bounced off the post, allowing Leinster to clear their lines.

However it wasn't long before a clinical Ospreys line-out and some smooth hands put Sam Davies over in the corner, with Biggar unable to convert on his 200th appearance for the region.

After a great high ball from Davies, Leinster infringed at the breakdown allowing Biggar to go for goal - making no mistake this time.

Trailing 8-0, Leinster finally built some phases in the Ospreys half on 16 minutes and however Dan Baker, who was outstanding in the first half, turned the ball over and allowed the home side to clear their lines.

Eventually Leinster's pressure paid off, their backline put everything in place for hooker Sean Cronin to make an excellent break from 22 metres out, stepping his way past Biggar to the line. The conversion from Isa Nacewa was good, putting Leinster just a point behind.

After a kicking battle Leinster almost went in again, Jamison Gibson-Park just denied after Fergus McFadden's break and clever interplay with Devin Toner.

The visitors did take the lead for the first time five minutes before half-time however, Nacewa knocking over a penalty only for Biggar to hit back with the final kick of the half to give the Ospreys an 11-10 lead at the break.

Leinster burst out of the blocks in the second half, with replacement Dan Leavy, on for Jack Conan, putting them back in front.

It came after some pressure in the Ospreys 22, with Leavy proving unstoppable from close range with a pick and drive after Robbie Henshaw and Cronin had put them into position to score.

The Ospreys needed a response with their hopes of a home semifinal hanging in the balance, but they did just that as Justin Tipuric crossed on the hour.

Like Leavy, it came from close range, with Tipuric picking and driving over and Davies slotting the conversion in the absence of Biggar who was getting patched up.

Leinster could have gone back in front with just over ten minutes to go when Leavy forced a penalty from a turnover but Nacewa's effort drifted wide.

There was still time for plenty more excitement though, with Byrne putting Leinster back in front with a fine drop-goal from 35 metres out.

Still Ospreys came and they looked to have done enough to win it, but Biggar pushed his penalty attempt to the right.

They will now face a must-win clash against Cardiff Blues at Judgement Day next weekend as they look to end a run of three straight losses.

Ken Owens marked his 200th Scarlets appearance with a try as he helped his side climb into the Pro12 top four with an impressive 51-5, eight-try victory over Treviso at Parc y Scarlets.

Steffan Evans and DTH van der Merwe, twice, had already crossed the whitewash when Owens benefitted from an inexorable driving maul in the 24th minute to secure the Welsh region a four-try bonus point.

They didn't let up from there as Evans grabbed a second, Tom Price went over, van der Merwe completed his hat-trick and Aled Davies touched down – with Ornel Gega getting Treviso's lone points.

The victory means the Scarlets leapfrog Ulster into a play-off place with just three games remaining in the season, as they maintained an unbeaten home record in the Pro12 that stretches back to September.

Wayne Pivac's troops now have seven wins from their last eight PRO12 games and are hitting top form at just the right time, with the business end of the campaign beckoning.

It took just two minutes for Scarlets to earn the lead as Dan Jones converted from the tee after Treviso had been penalised at the breakdown.

And shortly after, 3-0 became 8-0 as a beautiful show-and-go from James Davies flummoxed the Italian defence and he then released van der Merwe to go over in the corner.

Evans got the second try on nine minutes as he collected Davies' precise kick through to dot down before van der Merwe opportunistically darted off the base of a ruck and turned on the afterburners to blitz through the Treviso defence and dive over.

Jones added his first conversion and Scarlets soon had the bonus point as Owens' 200th appearance became even more of a fairytale when the pack drove over the line and he touched down.

Owens and fellow front-rower Samson Lee then engineered a 34th-minute turnover in their own 22 and fed Evans who scorched 70 metres to make it 30-0, as it stayed until half-time.

Scarlets had won their last seven matches against Treviso heading into the match and scored try number six just two minutes after the break as Price was the beneficiary of some strong running and a spectacular offload from Hadleigh Parkes.

To their credit, Treviso did get on the board when Gega dotted down shortly after but the Welsh province were soon back to their try-scoring ways as van der Merwe completed his hat-trick with a tidy finish from close-range.

Treviso were down to 12 men by that point, as Federico Zani, Francesco Minto and Edoardo Gori were all sent to the sin-bin, and Aled Davies piled on the misery as he finished off a sweeping team move – Aled Thomas' conversion making it 51-5.